Home Field Disadvantage

[SeriesFinale]

That's true. What a city. Just 26 short years between playoff appearances and they turn on you.

This, of course, is this team's fault.

[brains and braun]

No, but they should be aware of it when they spout off in the media.

[ELCABALLO45]

If this is how they are acting when they have pressure to MAKE the playoffs, what are they going to be like when they play in the playoffs?

 

Cry me a river Corey. Maybe if you played better you wouldn't get booed?

 

He sounds like a 3 year old.

[trwi7]

This, of course, is this team's fault.

Nobody said that. Say their favorite team has gone 26 years without a playoff appearance. Their favorite team choked last year and is choking again this year. Would they sit quietly or would they be pissed off? I'm guessing it's the latter.

 

DougJones43 wrote:

---

To me, this just smacks of more, "we're better than some really embarrassingly awful past Brewer teams -- so you should be grateful to have us!"

That's the same feeling I get from it.

[SeriesFinale]

I'm pissed off, too, I just don't think it's helpful or necessary to drunken scream my lungs out to let the team know, especially since they've been one of the better Brewer teams of all-time. No, it's not perfect, but I think the team knows that well and wants to do better without their home fans jumping all over them.

 

I get the feeling some people wouldn't be happy if they went 161-1.

[SeriesFinale]

This is the fourth player in about a year and a half to mention this in the press by my count (Fielder, Turnbow, Linebrink, Hart...although I seem to recall another). Either this team has an inordinate amount of "whiners," as some here believe, or MP does indeed have a "booing problem" as some others believe (and apparently the players). Linebrink was no spring chicken and had played elsewhere, so I'm not sure it's just the young guys.

[endaround]

Its widely known that Milwaukee fans boo at anything. Other teams have mentioned it. But thats ok, I'm sure it will have absolutely no effect on keeping players.

[Ennder]

I think he is 100% correct, I don't even really like to take the kids to the game anymore because the fans are so darn negative.

[RU Rah Rah]

I'm not defending booing, but I don't understand the rhetoric from Corey. Professional athletes almost never admit that booing/crowd noise on the road impacts their play; they generally claim that they shut it out, focus on the game, etc. But he seems to be suggesting that isolated booing at home affects the team. I don't get it. I thought they were impervious to booing.

[pretendastronaut]

Whenever this topic comes up, I'm always amazed how many people think being booed by 30,000 people should be something that is easily ignored and/or easily shrugged off. Simply amazing. I guess I'd feel different if we booed things that were actually insulting or offensive, but we boo simply because we're disappointed as if baseball players execute perfectly every time they're on the mound or at the plate. They're human and they make mistakes, they don't succeed every time, and they react negatively when 30,000 people think they have the superiority to pound on them for every mistake they make.

 

I'd like to think its a problem of bandwagon fans who have no patience because they're only at the park because the team is winning, but by the number of people here who always think they players need to just take it, I don't think I can. As it stands its just something that makes us look bad and I'm often embarrassed whenever I'm at the park and people are booing just because Gagne is coming in, or Bill Hall is coming to bat.

 

Every time this comes up, someone points out, "we gave Prince a standing ovation when he 0 for whatever" and that's great, but I have zero faith that we'd see that kind of class and support out of the fans of today. If you're going to support your team, support your freaking team. The booing is acting much more like a 3 year old than the players are by pointing it out.

[thablingster]

Personally, I think at times it is embarrassing how people boo at every little thing that goes wrong. Like the game on Sunday for example.

 

I think a lot of the booing is based on many people's pessimistic nature towards the Brewers since they've never really been all that successful. Those pessimistic people are expecting the Brewers to fail and whenever they suspect the collapse is coming the boos rain down. I'm sure the drunkenness doesn't help, but if you look at a team like the Packers or Badgers who have had sustained success, fans don't boo them nearly as much when every little thing goes wrong. In the end, winning cures everything.

[Patrick425]

I'm not the type of fan that boos. Not outwardly anyways.

 

Our seats are in the family section. There never seems to be a whole lot of boos coming from our section. Once or Twice a year, my wife is able to snag some tickets from work down in section 112. I sat there Tuesday with my son. It seems to be a different perspective down there. For one, a lot more conversation and chatter about a lot of things that have nothing to do with the game. It was a bit annoying, I felt like no one was paying attention to the game. Maybe it's because we sit in the last row in the family section, so I never have to listen to conversations behind me.

 

The guy behind me kept calling Fielder "Tubby". He sat right behind me and my son and would yell it at him every chance he got. A ground ball to short and as the throw is being made to 1st, I get to hear yelled right behind me.."C'mon Tubby!!" . It was funny the first dozen times or so, but it got real old after the first inning. Then there was a guy in front of me who seemed to thrive on booing and yelling negative things towards the players whenever he could. His favorite thing to do was to find circumstances where he could point out to the Brewer players how much better the Reds are at execution than the Brewers are. For example, a Red's player would lay down a bunt to move a guy over to 2nd and he would yell. "See how it's done Brewers? See how a good team executes?" I was tempted to point out to him the Brewer's record vs. the Red's record, but I didn't.

 

I understand frustration. I've been pretty frustrated with the play lately too. I'm not sure I understand the overly outwards projection of the frustration from some of th fans.

[ecjimg]

Im sure many of the "anit-booing" crowd have written scathing posts about the stupid things Ned does, their frustrations about Rickys fielding and strikeouts, their opinions of Gagne being the 8th inning guy etc. Well, guess what......Ned, the Mangagement and the players dont read your posts. If Im at Miller park and I see Weeks continual poor play (TWO errors late in the game) and Hall swinging at everything, Im not going to compose my next brewerfan.net "vent". Im going to Boo. Sorry. Im watching UNACCEPTABLE play by a team that is supposed to contend for the penant, but instead is playing worse than the worse teams in the league. Nothing has changed. Duram isnt playing, Villanueva isnt getting the ball except when they are losing and Hall is facing righthanded pitching. And Im supposed to be quiet and like it? I know this wasnt intened to be another boo/anti boo thread, but its gone there.

[jason21nl]

When things get tough, blame the fans. Sounds about right. Like DJ said, Prince, Turnbow, Hart, Ned said something to the effect of I'm smarter than all you. Years and years of losing will do that to your fan base. I think people on this board are to sensitive to the booing issue and people on this board think they are better than the rest of the fans that go to the games. I think the fans expected the team to lose before so they could give a damn about booing. Now the team is supposed to do well(and they are) and they see hacks like Gagne, Hall, and Weeks and Fielder booting every other ball hit to them. They fans just aren't going to put up with it anymore and the only thing they can do is boo. I think the fans are scared that the Crew will dupe them once again and choke the thing away. Booing really does nothing to help the team, but when Gagne comes into a close game and gives up a bomb on the second pitch, fans are going to boo, and boo loud.

[Fear The Chorizo]

If the players are concerned about the boobirds from this previous homestand, I'm sure they'll be ecstatic about the 25K Cub fans rolling into Miller Park for the final series of the season.

 

While booing doesn't help things, in no way should it hurt things on the field, either - not for teams deserving of being in the playoffs. The fact that booing apparently does induce Brewers' pressing leads me to believe that many players on the team still have plenty of growing up to do, and this team probably won't make the postseason because of it. The same fans that boo when things aren't going well cheer whenever something good happens for their team. I think Yost doesn't help matters much with how he interacts with the media, and with his tendencies to belittle fans' knowledge of the game in some quotes. Many times the boos are directed toward Yost - problem is he isn't one of the 9 on the field.

 

Corey Hart has a short term memory - unless he thought fans of other teams voted him into the all star game. Team's going to draw 3 million fans this year, and apparently the players want to go back to when the park was 1/3 full every day in September and 90% of them were wearing Packer/Badger jerseys.

 

This doesn't matter much, the way things are going the Brewers won't be in playoff position the next time they take the field at Miller Park, anyway. Remember how warmly the Mets were received late last season after spitting the bit and choking away a playoff birth? How the 04 Cub fans booed the hell out of them for choking away a big wildcard lead? Fans rooting for winning teams are the same everywhere - if the team can't close the season out strong and they end up missing the playoffs, there aren't going to be many cheers.

[yount19.u]

This Brewer team has the emotional and mental maturity of pack of 13 year old girls, and I think I just insulted 13 year old girls with that one. These are extremely talented grown men and they feel hurt because they get booed when they play horrible? Whether booing is right or wrong, get over it and win. Maybe if Hart (along with the entire team) would focus more on hitting the ball the opposite way instead of the boos, they would go away. With Ned at the helm, I'm sure he will just continue to enable the insecurities of all his players by patting their heads, drawing them a warm bath and telling them it's ok to cry. And we all wonder why they can't seem to break out of this funk. They're too busy feeling sorry for themselves. Sheesh!

[Fatter than Joey]

Corey Hart has a short term memory - unless he thought fans of other teams voted him into the all star game.

 

Great point -- How many of those "fan vote" All-stars did Brewer fans send? -- Jenks, Cappy, I think?

 

Getting booed sucks, September losses suck.

 

Like the man said, "It's Big Boy Time" -- sac up.

[hawing]

if the team can't close the season out strong and they end up missing the playoffs, there aren't going to be many cheers.

I think there's a difference between an absence of cheers and thousands, or even hundreds, of people booing.

 

I am embarrassed to be around Brewer fans while they are booing the Brewers. I agree with obsessedwithbrewcrew that the booing could result in a "home field disadvantage." That probably means about half the Brewerfan membership thinks I'm a naive chump, and I guess I can't stop you from thinking that.

To me, not openly tearing down the people you ostensibly support seems like a very basic part of being a fan. Obviously, our membership is irrevocably split on this issue, and my post won't change anyone's mind.

 

If the Brewers are unsuccessful in signing young(ish) talent such as Corey Hart, I will consider fan behavior part of the reason why, and I'll be sad for the franchise (and the fans who don't boo) as a result.

I'd have to add, good luck finding players who either are fully impervious to booing or who take the booing out of the equation by never, ever faltering on the field.

If I were regularly jeered in my workplace, I'd certainly consider changing workplaces.

[dhoffman19]

Booing, yelling insults at the players, etc. is idiotic. It's amazing the bahavior some people think is acceptable just b/c they're at a ballgame and they have a couple of beers in them. Yeah, you have a "right" to boo, but it doesn't say much for you if you act like a loudmouthed idiot.

 

Having said that, Hart's comments are pretty dumb. Can't blame him for being annoyed - and if he and the other players want to complain about it amongst themselves, fine. But insulting the fan base in the media is just downright stupid. He should know it's only going to backfire and make him look like a whiner. And to imply that the booing is actually affecting their play makes it look like he lacks mental toughness.

 

Brewer games have always had their share of loud, obnoxious idiots, but the booing of the home team is much worse than it used to be. Not sure when that changed. I guess this is what you get after 15 or so years of horrible baseball, the utter incompetence of the Bando regime, and later Selig years. People gave up on the organization as a whole. Then after all that, we supposedly have some talented players and hopes are built up, esp. last year, and then we get last year's collapse. That, combined with everything else, leads to the fans expecting the worst - even when things seem to be going well. I think people are just waiting for something to go wrong, so they get frustrated when things start going that direction.

 

The other thing that I think leads to all the booing is that this team is just horrible at fundamental baseball. When they lose, they generally lose in the worst way possible - errors, walks, HRs to 3rd rate players, getting shut down by mediocre pitchers, and striking out by swinging at ball 4. It seems they've brought together a bunch of guys who have talent, but who also have some serious shortcomings. For a lot of the hitters, the issue is plate discipline, for others (Weeks, Fielder) it's brutal fielding. They can just be downright painful to watch.

[TeeJayh1980]

Take this with a grain of salt, but one of the ushers at Miller Park on Wednesday said that the intensity in the Brewers clubhouse is very low considering they're on the verge of making the playoffs. The morale isn't high apparently. That boggles my mind, but it sure seems to show doesn't it? Oh, and BOOING doesn't help the situation AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[davego]

I'll boo Gagne giving up home runs and Rickie making errors. I also applaud their success. Seems like a natural 'fan thing' to do.

[HOF4canrake]

I almost never boo, except for an atrocious play, effort, etc. Although, I agree the booing has gotten completely out of hand recently at Miller Park.

 

However, maybe Corey should have picked a better time to bring this up. First off, as some have mentioned, when the team is struggling it sounds like he's giving the team an excuse for their poor play.

 

Secondly, he looked like a Pat Burrell-type, sup-par defender in right field last night. Two balls that he should have caught (not saying they were easy, but should have been caught) cost the Brewers a couple of runs.

 

Thirdly, the team still scored only 3 runs last night. Perhaps their failures lately have more to do with themselves and not the home fans. Last night was no different than what happened on the homestand.

 

These guys may be a little weak in the mental game, which doesn't bode well for a playoff run either. As far as the booing, somehow the Yankees have won a few World Series titles despite some unruly fans. When it comes down to it, the talent (physical and mental) will determine who rises to the top.

[yoshii8]

So this is what a pennant race in Milwaukee feels like? I heard all of these great things about how great it was in '82, and how the city of Milwaukee will embrace the Brewers when they have a good team again. I couldn't wait for it to happen, because, besides opening day, Brewers fans had been respectful, knowledgable baseball fans. I've waited patiently for my whole life, and now we are 20 games over .500 and have a three game lead w/ only a couple of weeks to go in the season, and this is what its like? Things are definitely not how I thought they would be.

 

I think the most frustrating thing about how a lot of the fans are acting, is that it seems like they don't realize that we have one of the youngest teams in baseball. Our core players are all in their mid 20's, and they are going to make mistakes, and booing them is not going to help ease the pressure at all. I really hope the Brewers make the playoffs, but I have to say I am totally disappointed in the attitude of the "new" Brewer fans. I'm glad the players are speaking out to the media, they don't deserve to be booed constantly by their own fans.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Im sorry but this is just another example of how mentally weak this team is. Every time something goes wrong they have to come up with lame excuses. This is as lame of an excuse as there is. I think its the fans right to boo when the team is on the verge of a second collapse in a row. 3 million fans are paying to watch this team and I consider that great fan support. Think the Rays would have a problem playing in front of so many fans?

 

This team completely lacks confidence at all. Every time things start going bad they all pout and make excuses. Time for making excuses is over. There is no reason why this team shouldnt make the playoffs. I guess I shouldnt blame Corey from complaining when the biggest excuse maker of them all is his manager. Its about time this team grows up and takes responsibility for its own failings.

[naivin]

My nickle's worth of free advice for Corey: Shut up and play.

 

If those comments provide any indication of this teams toughness; if they are truly that affected by a few boos from the Miller Park stands, I guess its easy to understand why they are wilting as they are under the hot September sun. People can talk about Ned Yost, and this and that, but these comments seem to indicate that the players may just be mentally weak.